Leaders of Orlando faiths pray together for peace and justice

Jeff Kunerth, Orlando Sentinel

Dressed in clerical robes, suits, turbans, and yarmulkes, Orlando's religious leaders demonstrated their solidarity in support of peace, justice and nonviolence Wednesday night during an interfaith prayer service.

"It's my privilege to address you tonight, standing with these prestigious faith leaders of Orlando representing the many faith traditions here in Central Florida," Orlando Catholic Bishop John Noonan told a group of about 100 people at the Anglican Cathedral of the Incarnation.

Noonan evoked the names of Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi in calling for people of all religions to dedicate themselves to living peacefully and without violence.

"Peace is the personal responsibility of each and every one of us," he said.

"Called to be Peacemakers: An Interfaith Prayer Service for Justice and Peace" was organized by the Catholic Diocese of Orlando as part of "A Week of Nonviolence" between the anniversaries of King's birth and the U.S. Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion, said Deborah Stafford Shearer, director of the diocese's Office of Advocacy and Justice.

The Rev. Nelson Pinder an Episcopal priest, led the gathering in a prayer of confession that began: "We forgive one another for any way in which we have caused pain to one another or may have torn apart the fabric of our social unity."

Noonan said the prayer service was an important reminder, at time when the nation seems to be splitting along religious lines, of how much Americans of every faith have in common.

"In all religions, there is the message of peace and that we have to treat one another with dignity," Noonan said in an interview before the service. "It's important for us as leaders to show unity and respect for one another while at the same time we join together in prayer for peace and justice."

Leaders of various faiths read passages from their holy texts that call for peace. Imam Muhammad Musri read from the Quran; Rabbi David Kay from Jewish writings; and the Rev. Scott Circe of the Catholic Diocese from the New Testament. Bhai Jaswinder Singh sang a hymn from Sikh scriptures.

They were joined in the service by Anglican Bishop Louis Campese, the Rev. Bryan Fulwider of the First Congressional Church of Winter Park and Bishop Carroll R. Johnson Jr. and Pastor Muriel A. Johnson of Maximum Life Church.

In addition to the readings, students from Bishop Moore Catholic High School recited quotations from famous speakers reflecting their religious traditions, including King, Elie Wiesel, Desmond Tutu and Shirin Ebadi, a Muslim recipient of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize.

One student read the words of Mother Teresa: "If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."